Members of Aveo Pharmaceuticals board elected to NAS, IOM, AACR and NFCR

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Members of the scientific advisory board of a biopharmaceutical company focused on cancer drugs have been elected as members of three national science organizations.

Aveo Pharmaceuticals announced Wednesday that members of the board had been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine and received awards from the American Association for Cancer Research and the National Foundation for Cancer Research.

“Aveo sincerely congratulates our SAB members on these much-deserved acknowledgements of their significant contributions to research and medicine,” Aveo president and CEO Tuan Ha-Ngoc stated. “Aveo is privileged to collaborate with leaders in the field of cancer research as we continue to develop and further our own translation research programs and advance our targeted cancer therapies in the clinic.”

SAB members Douglas Hanahan, Tyler Jacks and David Koch were elected to the NAS during its annual meeting in April. Charles Sawyers and Marie-Josee and Henry Kravis received the 2009 Dorothy P. Landon-AACR Prize for Translational Cancer Research during the AACR’s 100th annual meeting in Denver. Ronald DePinho, a co-founder of Aveo, received the fourth annual Albert Szent-Gyorgi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research from the NFCR. In addition, Hanahan, Sawyers and Raju Kucherlapati were elected as members of the IOM.

TRENDING STORIES

Sanofi-Aventis U.S. acquires rights to leukemia drug

BRIDDGEWATER, N.J. The U.S. subsidiary of French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis has acquired the rights to a drug for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the company announced.

Sanofi-Aventis U.S. said it acquired the drug Oforta (fludarabine phosphate) from biotech company Antisoma. Oforta, a tablet, is approved in the United States for treating B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia in adults.

“We are extremely pleased to add Oforta to our existing oncology portfolio and believe it represents an exciting opportunity for Sanofi-Aventis U.S.,” the company’s VP and head of its Oncology Business Unit John Harrington stated. “Sanofi-Aventis is a company committed to identifying and exploring new treatment options for patients facing serious diseases, such as CLL.”

Antisoma licenses certain rights and purchases Oforta from Bayer Schering Pharma. Sanofi-Aventis U.S. will acquire the agreements under the transaction.

TRENDING STORIES

McKesson to oversee strategic vaccine reserve

SAN FRANCISCO McKesson Corp. has been tapped by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to store and supply the nation’s strategic reserve of 2008-2009 seasonal influenza vaccines.

Under a contract signed with the CDC, McKesson will warehouse and potentially distribute up to 500,000 flu vaccine doses from its specialty distribution centers.

Behind the agency’s choice of McKesson: the company’s ability to handle the special storage and supply-chain requirements of distributing vaccines. The health services and distribution giant also holds the appropriate local, state and federal licenses for safely handling and transporting regulated drug products.

“Outsourced vaccine storage requires a distributor with experience and infrastructure to assure that supply chain systems are stable and secure,” said Philip Bolger, VP and general manager for distribution and physician services at McKesson Specialty Care Solutions. “In addition, McKesson can support the compressed timetable for vaccine distribution across the U.S. and its territories.”

Given their composition and limited shelf life, vaccines require special handling to maintain their viability through the storage and distribution process. “Precise cold chain management is critical to the product being received by the end user in manufacturer-recommended conditions,” the company noted.

Through a previous contract with the CDC, McKesson already supplies vaccines for public-sector needs. Two of its specialty distribution centers are primarily dedicated to that program, which shifted to a centralized distribution model in 2007 and delivers pediatric and adult vaccines to more than 46,000 providers across the United States and its territories.

“The demands of CDC programs require a distributor with experience, flexibility and vision, and we are honored by the CDC’s continued confidence in McKesson to meet these needs,” said Pat Blake, president of McKesson Specialty Care Solutions.

Forgotten Password

Registration complete

REGISTER

USERNAME *

Spaces are allowed; punctuation is not allowed except for periods, hyphens, and underscores.

E-MAIL ADDRESS *

A valid e-mail address. All e-mails from the system will be sent to this address. The e-mail address is not made public and will only be used if you wish to receive a new password or wish to receive certain news or notifications by e-mail.

Password *

Confirm Password *

Please choose a password for your account; it must be 8 - 30 characters. .

First Name *

Last Name *

Company Name *

Job Title *

ZIP *

Are you a *

Retailer or Healthcare professional

Non-Retailer

How many stores do you operate?: *

Which best describes the business/industry you work in?: *

Which best describes your job title?: *

Please select the newsletters you would like to subscribe to

DSN A.M.
Daily news stories covering the retail drug industry

Breaking News
First-to-the-market with developing stories in the industry